We buy souls

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monochroms Seelenkaufvertrag ("We buy souls"), 1998

We buy souls (also known as soul purchase or soul sale ) is an art performance by the art and theory group monochrom from 1998. The performance is considered to be an important art event in the history of the group and Austrian art history in the 1990s.

background

On November 1, 1998 ( Allerseelen ), the monochrom members Johannes Grenzfurthner and Harald Homolka-List (supported by their friend Ulrich Troyer) opened a “spirituo-capitalist stand” on Stock-im-Eisen-Platz (part of Stephansplatz nearby of St. Stephen's Cathedral in Vienna's first district), where project members tried the souls of passers-by for about 50 shillings (about 3 euros) to buy per soul. The “acquisition team” carried out an “assessment routine” to check the “quality” of the souls offered. For example , philosophical questions were posed in academic jargon , but dodgers and other pseudoscientific techniques were also used. A total of 15 souls were purchased and registered. The aim was to sell the souls to third parties for a profit.

Elisabeth Nemeth, professor of philosophy at the University of Vienna , wrote in the standard :

Those who had sold their soul could - if they changed their minds the next day - buy it back, albeit at a significantly higher price. Remarkably, this buy-back option has been used so often that the soul-buying company has allegedly become a business.

Bruce Sterling mentions monochrom in Wired 2007 and says that they are doing "international soul trade", a reference to the project.

For the group, the project was - independent of philosophical debates and arguments about the existence of God or the afterlife - a consideration of the market based on supply and demand . For the group, “it's not about whether there is a soul as long as it can be sold at a profit. The soul is a tradable commodity, a form of virtual capital. "

The performance was documented and could be viewed in various exhibitions. It has also been discussed in the press and in academic circles.

Publications

  • Buying a soul in the pedestrian zone , in: monochrom # 11-14 1/2, 2000.
  • Art comes from buying , in: "Radical Art", anthology 2010.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Wolfgang Paterno: The omnivores . Retrieved March 5, 2019.
  2. ↑ To dispose of the soul cheaply . Retrieved March 5, 2019.
  3. ↑ Ulrike Weiser: Monochrome: The Pioneers of the Wild Worldwideweb . Retrieved March 5, 2019.
  4. ↑ monochrome # 11-14 1/2 . edition mono / monochrom ,, ISBN 3-9500731-2-4 ( Accessed March 5, 2019).
  5. ↑ soul? Trading futures? . ORF. Retrieved March 5, 2019.
  6. ↑ Yannick Gotthardt: Fuckzilla in the discourse cave . Retrieved March 5, 2019.
  7. ↑ derStandard.at. Retrieved March 5, 2019 (Austrian German).
  8. ↑ Bruce Sterling: RE / SEARCH . In: Wired . February 6, 2007, ISSN  1059-1028 ( wired.com [accessed March 5, 2019]).
  9. ↑ monochrome # 11-14 1/2 . edition mono / monochrom ,, ISBN 3-9500731-2-4 ( Accessed March 5, 2019).
  10. ↑ Alexandra Matzner: monochrom at MUSA . Retrieved March 5, 2019.
  11. ↑ Brigitte Zarzer: Cats would read Adorno . Hot. Retrieved March 5, 2019.
  12. ^ Günther Friesinger: Context Hacking . Retrieved March 5, 2019.
  13. ↑ Borderline: Strategies and Tactics for Art and Social Practice . Borderline Congress. Retrieved March 5, 2019.
  14. ↑ Armin Medosch: Seller of Souls . Hot. Retrieved March 5, 2019.
  15. ^ The press: monochrome. September 4, 2008, accessed March 5, 2019 .